Tax Concessions and Investment Behaviour

The Government of Pakistan, like many other developing countries, has opted for tax holidays as an important fiscal measure to encourage rapid industrialisation in the backward areas. This concession is also supplemented by several other economic and non-economic measures including import duty, and depreciation allowances. Mintz (1990) discusses the efficacy of tax holidays in the presence of accelerated depreciation allowances concludes that tax holidays which are designed to increase capital formation may end up penalising capital formation. Mintz’s (1990) conclusion is based on the assumption that if the assets are long-lived, and the income tax system allows deductibility of accelerated depreciation but cannot be deferred, then the tax holidays, by preventing depreciation deduction in the early period may actually penalise investment during the tax holiday period. If on the other hand the depreciation allowance is deferred till the end of tax holiday period, the tax system is genuinely generous and provides a real incentive for capital formation. In Pakistan the tax code are such that the firms in the tax holidays region are not allowed to claim or defer accelerated depreciation allowance but can claim normal depreciation allowance only after the expiry of tax holidays period. Whereas the firms in developed areas can claim both accelerated (25 percent) and normal depreciation allowances (10 percent) annually. Import duty concession is given for most of the underdeveloped areas and few of the developed areas. These different sets of incentives affects the cost of capital and hence investment differently. The purpose of the present paper is to see these effects by computing the cost of capital for developed and under developed areas. This will help us to examine whether the tax holidays as an incentive is effective or act as a barrier to claim other generous concession like the depreciation allowance.

Quantitatively evaluating the effect of social barriers: a case-control study of family members' opposition and women's intention to use contraception in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Uptake of family planning services in Pakistan has remained slow over the past decade despite a rapid increase in availability and awareness, indicating that social barriers may be preventing uptake. Social barriers such as opposition by family members have largely been studied qualitatively; there is a lack of quantitative evidence about the effect of different family members' opposition on women's intention to use contraceptives. The objective of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the effect of family members' opposition to family planning on intention to use contraception amongst poor women in Pakistan who have physical access to family planning services. METHODS: An unmatched case control study (nested within a larger cohort study) was conducted in two public hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare risk factors between women that were not intending to use any contraceptive methods in the future (cases) and women that were planning to use contraceptive methods (controls). RESULTS: 248 cases and 496 controls were included in the study. Negative contraceptive intent was associated with no knowledge of contraception (AOR = 3.79 [2.43-5.90]; p < 0.001), husband's opposition (AOR = 21.87 [13.21-36.21]; p < 0.001) and mother-in-law's opposition (AOR = 4.06 [1.77-9.30]; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to quantitatively assess the effect of opposition by different family members on women's contraceptive intent in Pakistan. Our results indicate that of all family members, husband's opposition has the strongest effect on women's intention to use contraception, even when the women have knowledge of and physical access to family planning services

Silencing of MBD1 and MeCP2 in prostate-cancer-derived PC3 cells produces differential gene expression profiles and cellular phenotypes

Alterations in genomic CpG methylation patterns have been found to be associated with cell transformation and neoplasia. Although it is recognized that methylation of CpG residues negatively regulates gene expression, how the various MBPs (methyl-binding proteins) contribute to this process remains elusive. To determine whether the two well characterized proteins MeCP2 (methyl-CpG-binding protein 2) and MBD1 (methyl-CpG-binding domain 1) have distinct or redundant functions, we employed RNAi (RNA interference) to silence their expression in the prostate cancer-derived PC3cell line, and subsequently compared cell growth, invasion and migration properties of these cell lines in addition to their respective mRNA-expressionprofiles. Cells devoid of MeCP2 proliferated more poorly compared with MBD1-deficient cells and the parental PC3 cells. Enhanced apoptosis was observed in MeCP2-deficient cells, whereas apoptosis in parental and MBD1-deficient cells appeared to be equivalent. Boyden chamber invasion and wound-healing migration assays showed that MBD1-silenced cells were both more invasive and migratory compared with MeCP2-silenced cells. Finally, gene chip microarray analyses showed striking differences in the mRNA-expression profiles obtained from MeCP2- and MBD1-depleted cellsrelative to each other as well as when compared with control cells. The results of the present study suggest that MeCP2 and MBD1 silencing appear to affect cellular processes independently in vivo and that discrete sets of genes involved in cellular proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration are targeted by each protein

Blood and cardiovascular health parameters after supplementing with ketone salts for six weeks

Background: Exogenous ketone salts (KS) have been administered as treatment for various health conditions; however, the safety of chronic supplementation in a healthy population has yet to be explored. Aim: This study examined the safety of KS supplementation for 6 weeks in healthy, young adults and determined the effects of KS on blood ketone levels. Setting: Data collection occurred in a laboratory at Augusta University. Methods: Twenty-three men and women (aged 18–35 years old) supplemented with KS or a placebo (PLA) twice per day for 6 weeks in a randomised, double-blinded, PLA-controlled design. Baseline and post-intervention measures included body mass index (BMI), resting blood pressure and heart rate, questionnaires assessing mood and energy, urinalysis, and venous blood measures, including comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), lipid panel, and complete blood count (CBC). In addition, the participants consumed the assigned supplement during the baseline and post-intervention visits; blood ketone levels were assessed immediately before and after 30 and 60 min post-supplementation. Results: Systolic blood pressure was significantly lower (p < 0.05) after supplementing with KS for 6 weeks but not PLA. All other health parameters remained unchanged by KS supplementation, including BMI, resting heart rate, urinalysis, CMP, lipid panel, and CBC. After acute administration of KS but not PLA, blood ketone levels were significantly elevated (p < 0.001) 30 and 60 min after supplementation at both baseline and post-intervention visits. Conclusion: Chronic KS supplementation seems safe, significantly elevates blood ketone levels 30 and 60 min after supplementation and may lower blood pressure. Future explorations should determine the success of KS supplementation as a strategy to combat hypertension

Guyon's canal syndrome due to tortuous ulnar artery with DeQuervain stenosing tenosynovitis, ligamentous injuries and dorsal intercalated segmental instability syndrome, a rare presentation: a case report

The Guyon's canal syndrome is a well known clinical entity and may have significant impact on patient's quality of life. We report a case of 43-year-old male who presented with complaints of pain and numbness in right hand and difficulty in writing for past one month. On imaging diagnosis of Guyon's canal syndrome because of tortuous ulnar artery was made with additional findings of DeQuervain's stenosing tenosynovitis and dorsal intercalated segmental instability syndrome with ligamentous injury and subsequently these were confirmed on surgery

Measuring Coverage in MNCH:A Prospective Validation Study in Pakistan and Bangladesh on Measuring Correct Treatment of Childhood Pneumonia

Antibiotic treatment for pneumonia as measured by Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) is a key indicator for tracking progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal 4. Concerns about the validity of this indicator led us to perform an evaluation in urban and rural settings in Pakistan and Bangladesh.Caregivers of 950 children under 5 y with pneumonia and 980 with "no pneumonia" were identified in urban and rural settings and allocated for DHS/MICS questions 2 or 4 wk later. Study physicians assigned a diagnosis of pneumonia as reference standard; the predictive ability of DHS/MICS questions and additional measurement tools to identify pneumonia versus non-pneumonia cases was evaluated. Results at both sites showed suboptimal discriminative power, with no difference between 2- or 4-wk recall. Individual patterns of sensitivity and specificity varied substantially across study sites (sensitivity 66.9% and 45.5%, and specificity 68.8% and 69.5%, for DHS in Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively). Prescribed antibiotics for pneumonia were correctly recalled by about two-thirds of caregivers using DHS questions, increasing to 72% and 82% in Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively, using a drug chart and detailed enquiry.Monitoring antibiotic treatment of pneumonia is essential for national and global programs. Current (DHS/MICS questions) and proposed new (video and pneumonia score) methods of identifying pneumonia based on maternal recall discriminate poorly between pneumonia and children with cough. Furthermore, these methods have a low yield to identify children who have true pneumonia. Reported antibiotic treatment rates among these children are therefore not a valid proxy indicator of pneumonia treatment rates. These results have important implications for program monitoring and suggest that data in its current format from DHS/MICS surveys should not be used for the purpose of monitoring antibiotic treatment rates in children with pneumonia at the present time

EN-BIRTH Data Collector Training - Handbook and Manual

The EN-BIRTH study aims to validate selected newborn and maternal indicators for routine facility-based tracking of coverage and quality of care for use at district, national and global levels. The item contains the EN-BIRTH_Trainer's Manual (14 June 2017) and EN-BIRTH_Training Handbook (23 May 2017)

EN-BIRTH Data Collector Training - Supporting Annexes

The EN-BIRTH study aims to validate selected newborn and maternal indicators for routine facility-based tracking of coverage and quality of care for use at district, national and global levels. The item contains consent forms and participant information, in addition to standard operating procedures (SOP) for adverse clinical events, and managing distress in interviews. The full complement of annex files used during the training can be requested via this site if required